“The OCM team is here to help agencies and state employees get through the implementation of Workday as seamlessly as possible.”
One Washington plans for a unified approach to change management to align with others across state government. In an interview with OCM deputy director, Danielle Blanchard, we learn the benefits of using the Prosci approach to organization change management.
- What’s the goal of Organizational Change Management (OCM)?
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It’s a big lift to change the way the state does business, and each agency is unique in how they’ve been interfacing with the aging system(s) and technologies. State employees need adequate support to prepare for and transition to new processes and systems. The OCM team is here to help agencies and state employees get through each implementation of Workday as seamlessly as possible. Change is a process, and we all go through it at different speeds. Any time we have new technologies and programs we will have that dip in productivity. We’re all learning and its expected, but we want to come out of that dip and have state employees feel supported. Our goal is for state employees to be prepared, informed, and involved and to gain confidence with the business transformation and excel. Agencies are not alone, state employees are not alone, we’re all in this together.
- What is Prosci and why was it chosen?
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Prosci is a change management methodology that focuses on the human side of change within organizations. It’s scientifically backed by 20+ years of qualitative and quantitative data to match the methodology. Prosci has a structured framework with simplified elements that make up the framework. When the elements are brought together there is a step-by-step process for a sophisticated change management practice.
We chose Prosci because most agencies already have familiarity with and have been using Prosci as their preferred method. Prosci is not brand new to state employees and we have a high number who are already Prosci certified. By matching the methodology already in practice, we don’t have to retrain people because we will be using a common language of which agencies are already familiar. Prosci has quickly grown to be the state’s standard for change management, and we want to be in alignment with best practices.
- What is your vision for the future of the OCM workstream?
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The vision is that of a sustainment model for OCM in Washington state government. We don’t want to come and help agencies with just change management and leave. We want to give them the tools and knowledge they need and that can be used on any other projects they may have in the future. Our team will be here for the One Washington implementation yes, but we want agencies to have the change management skills they need for other projects they have going on their agencies to be successful. It’s about agencies being successful as a whole and being successful in future projects. This is the first phase of a project that will being going on for years with multiple phases. The initial scope of One Washington is finance, although all five core administrative functions (finance, procurement, human resources, payroll, and budget) will be updated. We will be with the agencies for the duration of One Washington, and we want to be able to continue to provide support moving into the future with a unified, human-centered approach to change management across state government.
